Major League Baseball's trade deadline in on the horizon, which has the entire baseball world reminiscing on past deadline deals; including one that helped guide the Boston Red Sox to a World Series title.
Henry Palattella of MLB.com took a look at some of the most overlooked deadline deals of the last century, to help illustrate ow much weight can be carried by even the smallest of trades. His choice for 2018 was Steve Pearce, who arrived to Boston via an understated deal with the Toronto Blue Jays for Santiago Espinal.
Here's what Palattella had to say about the deal:
Pearce only needed four at-bats to become the stuff of New England legend. After being limited to 76 regular-season games due to injuries, Pearce reached another level in the Fall Classic, mashing three home runs and tallying seven RBIs in the final two games of the series.
After going hitless in the first three games, Pearce clubbed a game-tying home run in the eighth inning off Jansen in Game 4. In his next at-bat, he hit a three-run double in the ninth inning to increase Boston's lead. A day later, he clobbered two home runs in the decisive Game 5 and was named World Series MVP.
The Red Sox were busy at the 2018 deadline, trading for Pearce, Nathan Eovaldi and Ian Kinsler in three separate deals with the Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Angels. Eovaldi has obviously been the most impactful addition of the bunch -- serving as a top of the rotation starter for Boston since -- but it was Pearce who flew under the radar and provided a big return.
As the Red Sox continue to fight for their position atop the American League wild card standings, keep an eye out for Boston's next potential Steve Pearce trade. You wouldn't want to overlook it.
